Center for Environmental Journalism
@cej-cuboulder.bsky.social
Supporting environmental storytelling through training, fellowships & reporting grants — including The Water Desk and Ted Scripps Fellowship.
Celebrating the new book by our founding director, Len Ackland. Don't Bury the Lede is part memoir, part reflection on journalism, exploring resilience and the experiences that shape a journalist's path. Join Len for at Trident Booksellers & Café on at Boulder on Aug. 30, 2–4 p.m. tr.ee/hLCNnb
A new feature from CMDI Now highlights the work of The Water Desk, an initiative of the CEJ at the University of Colorado Boulder, and how it supports journalists covering complex water and climate issues across the West. Read the full story: tr.ee/gtQh52 #EnvironmentalJournalism #WaterJournalism
For reporters, the water beat is on fire
A woeful winter and searing spring have thrust a spotlight on climate journalism. Reporters throughout the West have an ally in CMDI’s Water Desk.
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Incoming Ted Scripps Fellow Jenae Barnes profiles environmental sociologist Dorceta Taylor, whose work as editor of the world's first Encyclopedia of Environmental Justice documents the people, movements, and ideas that have shaped environmental justice across the globe Read the story: tr.ee/M0KuUD
Meet the woman behind the world’s first environmental justice encyclopedia
Dorceta Taylor spent decades pushing back on the idea that environmentalism ‘wasn't a Black thing.’ Now she's rewritten its history.
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In a story for The Water Desk, later republished by KUNC, Annie MacKeigan examines how universities across the West are balancing aesthetics, student expectations, and environmental responsibility as water scarcity reshapes the region. Read more: tr.ee/msfTre #WaterDesk #KUNC #ColoradoRiver #Water
How universities in the West justify staying green during drought
In early June, water experts gathered at the University of Colorado Boulder to talk about the future of the Colorado River. The lifeline for 40 million people in the Southwest is in dire shape. Too…
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In a new story for Re:Public, former Ted Scripps Fellow Christopher Solomon examines the potential consequences of a recent executive order that rolls back federal guidance governing off-highway vehicle use on public lands. Read more: www.republic.land/it-might-get... #PublicLands #Conservation
It Might Get Loud
In late May, President Trump rolled back federal restrictions on off-road vehicles that had been in place since the 1970s. The impact on public lands is likely to be dramatic—and it’s happening now.
republic.land
We're delighted to welcome Stephen Robert Miller as the new Assistant Director of the Center for Environmental Journalism at the University of Colorado Boulder. Learn more about Stephen and his work: stephenrobertmiller.com @s-r-m.bsky.social
As water is released to help protect downstream Lake Powell, marina operators, anglers, and local businesses in Wyoming and Utah are grappling with falling water levels, damaged infrastructure, and uncertainty about the future of a recreation economy built around the reservoir. tr.ee/mLtPUb
‘It’s devastating’: Drawdown at Flaming Gorge hits local recreation economy
As campers with boats flocked to Buckboard Marina at the start of Memorial Day weekend, Tony Valdez was busy issuing refunds and repairing broken boat ramps. One older Green River man, who walked…
waterdesk.org
In his latest feature for National Geographic, Luke Runyon, co-director of The Water Desk, examines how worsening drought, shrinking snowpack, and rising temperatures are pushing the Colorado River toward a critical point. Read the story: tr.ee/mBcNFz #EnvironmentalJournalism #ColoradoRiver
A river crisis is unfolding in the American West
The Colorado has been struggling for decades. This summer could bring it to the brink, threatening endangered wildlife and communities.
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In this Grist investigation, incoming Ted Scripps Fellow Ayurella Horn-Muller reports on widespread grant cancellations and questions raised by recipients over alleged “wasteful” spending claims used to justify the cuts. tr.ee/0q5arq #USDA #Agriculture #Climate #EnvironmentalJustice #Journalism
The USDA canceled $300M in farm grants, citing fraud. Did it make up the evidence?
The agency pointed to gazebos, massages, and a $20,000 budget for pens to justify the cuts. But the groups that lost funding say those claims don't add up.
grist.org
Congratulations to former Ted Scripps Fellow Erin Douglas on the publication of her latest feature in Boston Globe Magazine. We are delighted to see the impactful reporting our fellows continue to produce on critical environmental issues. Read more: www.bostonglobe.com/2026/06/24/m...
What’s driving New England’s tick boom? Tracing key moments that led to the surge. - The Boston Globe
How the region became the most dangerous place in the country for tick-borne illness.
bostonglobe.com
Annie MacKeigan explores how researchers across the West are using soil moisture data to better understand wildfire risk, forecast fire behavior, and support prevention efforts in this story from The Water Desk. tr.ee/eth0I1 #Wildfire #Climate #SoilMoisture #WaterDesk #EnvironmentalJournalism
Want to predict wildfires? The key may be underground
Recent studies demonstrate how soil moisture data can help wildfire experts predict a potential fire’s location and severity.
waterdesk.org
A new poll suggests that Americans overwhelmingly oppose the construction of data centers, with women expressing the strongest concerns. Incoming Ted Scripps Fellow Jenae Barnes reports for The 19th. tr.ee/dWsWBs #DataCenters #AI #Climate #EnvironmentalJustice #Journalism
Americans overwhelmingly oppose data centers. Women most of all.
New polling shows women have stronger concerns than men over the implications of the massive and costly complexes used to power AI.
19thnews.org
As Lake Powell recedes, a remarkable ecological transformation is unfolding across Glen Canyon. Story by The Salt Lake Tribune in partnership with the Colorado River Collaborative, with support from The Water Desk. tr.ee/t9ZC2E #ColoradoRiver #LakePowell #GlenCanyon #Climate #Ecology #WaterDesk
As Lake Powell drops, a thriving ecosystem is emerging
“We’re entering beaver land!” Zanna Stutz yelled joyfully. Stepping lightly over slick, wobbly mud and splashing through ankle-deep water, she approached a small dam created by nature’s engineers. A…
waterdesk.org
Former Ted Scripps Fellow Ishan Thakore reports for CPR News on Denver’s plan to replace an aging steam heating system with a thermal energy network that uses water, geothermal energy, and even heat recovered from wastewater. tr.ee/FlYogV #Climatechange #climatesolutions #environmentaljournalism
Denver has a plan to heat and cool buildings without fossil fuels. It involves … sewage?
Like many cities, Denver's largest source of greenhouse gas emissions is its buildings. Heating and cooling skyscrapers requires a lot of fossil fuels. Now, the city is trying a surprising solution.
npr.org
In this story for MPR News, former Ted Scripps Fellow Ben Cathey examines how the 2024 Gannon solar storm interfered with GPS-guided farm equipment during the spring planting season, costing Corn Belt farmers an estimated $1 billion in lost productivity. tr.ee/Z5Gw6l #Climate #Weather #SpaceWeather
Gannon solar storm cost corn growers a billion dollars
You might remember the bright aurora borealis from May 2024, visible all across Minnesota and the Upper Midwest. Down below on Earth, it was a panicked few days for farmers. Solar (or geomagnetic)…
mprnews.org
Mitch Tobin reports for The Water Desk on how scientists are using machine learning and field data to improve snowfall forecasts and understand storm impacts. waterdesk.org/2026/05/mach... #WaterDesk #Climate #AI #Weather
Can AI forecast if snow will be fluffy or dense? Only with help from humans
Scientists use machine learning and hand-collected data to better predict snowfall and storm impacts
waterdesk.org
Luke Runyon of The Water Desk at the CEJ is featured in the latest PBS NewsHour Horizons episode on the growing Colorado River water crisis. Watch: tr.ee/3XTgQo #ColoradoRiver #ClimateChange #EnvironmentalJournalism
Horizons from PBS News | How states are confronting the Colorado River water crisis
As the Colorado River dries up, how Western states are confronting the water crisis
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Ted Scripps Fellow (2026–27) Spotlight Series: Sam Price-Waldman #TedScrippsFellowship #EnvironmentalJournalism #ClimateJournalism #CEJ #DocumentaryFilm
Ted Scripps Fellow (2026–27) Spotlight Series: Ayurella Horn-Muller #TedScrippsFellowship #EnvironmentalJournalism #ClimateJournalism #CEJ
Ted Scripps Fellow (2026–27) Spotlight Series: Amanda Eggert #TedScrippsFellowship #EnvironmentalJournalism #ClimateJournalism #CEJ
Ted Scripps Fellow (2026–27) Spotlight Series: Jenae Barnes #TedScrippsFellowship #EnvironmentalJournalism #ClimateJournalism #CEJ
Ted Scripps Fellow (2026–27) Spotlight Series: Sam Brasch #TedScrippsFellowship #EnvironmentalJournalism #ClimateJournalism #CEJ
We are thrilled to announce the 2026–27 Ted Scripps Fellowship cohort: Jenae Barnes, Sam Brasch, Amanda Eggert, Ayurella Horn-Muller, and Sam Price-Waldman. #TedScrippsFellowship #EnvironmentalJournalism
Join a timely panel on native firefighting legacy, shared practices, and the outlook for the 2026 fire season—moderated by Ted Scripps Fellow Ben Cathey. Register here: tr.ee/zXBMWN #Wildfire #ClimateChange #IndigenousKnowledge #EnvironmentalJournalism
Sharing a recent story by Jeff Burnside, Scripps Advisory Board Member and Former Scripps Fellow, on optician Chrissy Friberg’s work bringing vision care to remote Alaska communities. Read the full story here:
Bringing eye care to remote villages opens WA woman to her life's work
Chrissy Friberg has made 40 trips to 190 Alaska villages to aid thousands of people who would likely never have eye care otherwise. Helping Indigenous people see has become her life's work.
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Read Meera Subramanian, our Advisory Board Member, reflecting on the rise of a new generation of climate activists organizing, advocating, and pushing for accountability in ways that are reshaping the future of climate action. Read: tr.ee/67lc4o #ClimateChange #ClimateAction #YouthActivism
A New Generation of Climate Leaders Is Our Last Hope
Young climate activists “have a life-and-death stake in the climate system they will be inhabiting,” writes Meera Subramanian.
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Congrats to Mitch Tobin of The Water Desk for winning first and second place in the SPJ's Top of the Rockies contest (Small Newsroom, Science & Technology Feature). Scientists use cosmic rays to study the snowpack tr.ee/lSIonA Scientists clash over how to track the West’s vital snowpack tr.ee/mCU73O
Scientists use cosmic rays to study the snowpack
Extraterrestrial particles offer insights into Earth’s mountain water towers
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What happens when shareholder activism challenges oil giants on their climate accountability? Read the latest story from our current CEJ fellow, Chris Walker, at The Lever 📖 Read full story: tr.ee/DCAV1O #ClimateJournalism #EnvironmentalStories #ClimateAction #CEJ #TedScrippsFellowships
The Man Whom Exxon Tried To Drill
After years of using shareholder votes to pressure oil giants on climate, one activist triggered a corporate backlash that is reshaping the limits of investor power.
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We’re hiring — 6 days to deadline! CEJ is seeking an Assistant Director (full-time, in-person). Great fit for journalists/editors looking to move into leadership while staying connected to impactful work. Apply: tr.ee/mKv9EE #JournalismJobs #EnvironmentalJournalism #MediaJobs #nowhiring
Assistant Director of the Center for Environmental Journalism
Assistant Director of the Center for Environmental Journalism at created 17-Mar-2026
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We’re hiring — deadline extended to April 7! CEJ is seeking an Assistant Director (full-time, in-person). Great fit for journalists/editors looking to move into leadership while staying connected to impactful work. Apply: tr.ee/mKv9EE #JournalismJobs #EnvironmentalJournalism #MediaJobs #nowhiring
